


Happiness

by Felin_V



Series: Edelgard month 2020 [2]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/F, One Shot, Peaceful days, Post-War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-10
Updated: 2020-06-10
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:41:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24641902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Felin_V/pseuds/Felin_V
Summary: A mini one-short series to celebrate Pride month (Edelgard month).The stories focus on the peaceful days Edelgard spend with her BEgles.This time, Edelgard and Dorothea have something they wanted to tell each other.
Relationships: Dorothea Arnault & Edelgard von Hresvelg, Dorothea Arnault/Petra Macneary, Edelgard von Hresvelg/My Unit | Byleth
Series: Edelgard month 2020 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1773853
Kudos: 39





	Happiness

After a long day of hard work and radiating its heat throughout the continent of Fodlan, the sun finally got tired and was about to retire for the day. As the sun hanged low on the horizon, the blue sky turned brilliant orange and red mixed with a tint of purple in the higher sky above. The wind that started to lose its warmth drifted leisurely against the soft pale skin and nonchalantly carried the strand of loosening snow-white locks along with its current. This time of the day was Edelgard’s favorite time to relax her stiff body after the long day of parchments and meetings. Even though the new governing system had settled well for a while now, there were still some matters that required the Emperor to finalize the decision. That said, she was always busy most of the day. But as she gradually minimized her responsibility and power within the system, Edelgard was allowed to have more free times just as now where she stood in the balcony of her office, lazily watching the sunset. 

As Edelgard enjoyed the time that seemed to tick slower than it used to be, she heard a faint creak from the door behind her. And then a pair of high heels voiced its clicking sound steadily toward Edelgard without any mind to announce its owner. When the clicking sound stopped beside her, Edelgard glanced at the source of the sound and saw a beautiful woman adorned with a brunette long hair who was indulging in the breeze with closed eyes. 

“Ah. It’s just you.”

“Aw Edie. I know you would rather have your wife here instead of me, but that hurts, you know?” Dorothea replied the bland notion with a dramatic, painful face and a mischievous tone, prompting a few chuckles out of Edelgard. 

“Put that aside, do you have anything to discuss with me?” Edelgard nonchalantly asked the songstress with a warm smile while putting up her elbow and placed her fine face there.

Such a relaxed atmosphere that rarely came from her friend made a fond smile appeared on Dorothea’s face before she answered with the same carefree tone, “Oh, it’s nothing that will ruin this enchanted moment, I’m sure.” With a pause, Dorothea turned away to face the big orange ball at the horizon with a somber gaze. A beat later, she spoke up slowly with sorrowful emerald eyes, “I’m leaving with Petra in a few days.” 

As the news sank into the silence that hanged over them, Edelgard let her firm lilac eyes stayed on the songstress before her with a pensive expression. After knowing each other for a long time, Edelgard had learned how to distinguish between the facade her friend put on and the real one underneath. And here in the balcony, she knew Dorothea did not wear any marks ever since she walked in, and her sorrow came from her real self.

When Edelgard straightened herself and shifted her lilac eyes to meet the bright, vibrant color in the sky, Dorothea peeked at her with the corner of her emerald eyes before letting out a breathless chuckle. “No answer, huh? I took that Hubie already told you then.” 

Although it was more like a statement more than a question, Edelgard inclined her head slightly as an answer anyway. She did know from Hubert that Dorothea and Petra were about to go back to Brigid together in a few days. As Edelgard recalled the last time both of them went to Brigid, they went there along with the rest of the Strike Force to witness the traditional ceremony of the Brigid royal, where Petra ascended to the throne as a Queen of Brigid. It was a temporary visit with only two purposes, the ceremony and the introduction of the Queen’s lover. Edelgard could recall vividly when the songstress came to her with an odd clumsy manner and a rare nervous expression, asking her how to act like a proper royal’s girlfriend. Of course, Edelgard had laughed wholeheartedly at the strange request her friend had asked, but she taught her some necessary skills anyway. And fortunately, the royal family seemed to like the songstress enough even when she was just simply herself. It made Petra and Edelgard both relieved and happy for the songstress. But this time was different. This time, Dorothea and Petra had no plan to return anytime soon. Just the thought of not be able to meet and chat with her best friend again made Edelgard’s chest tight and heavy. 

“He did. But don’t misunderstand me. I’m happy for you, Dorothea. After everything you have done for this country...for me, you deserve peaceful days with Petra. Besides, Brigid was a lovely country, and I’m sure everyone there will love you.” Edelgard spoke up with a tint of a confident smile on her face that reflected the bright sunset above. She paused for her words to sink into Dorothea before she opened her mouth again with a breath that resembled a whisper. “I will miss you, my dear friend.”

Even without looking at Edelgard directly, Dorothea could sense the hint of sad smile carried over with the whistling wind. And so, knowing exactly what was the message behind that, Dorothea replied with her own sad smile, “And I will miss you too, Edie.”

Both of them stayed within the content silence of one another for a while until the wind carried away the bitter-sweet atmosphere. It was then when Dorothea resumed her mischievous side again and grumbled with a pretended irritation. “But then sometimes I couldn’t understand why you can be this confident when I am not at all confident in myself.” 

After hearing her friend sigh heavily, Edelgard let out a bright chuckle and shifted her genuine, soft eyes to meet the emerald eyes. “Believe me, Dorothea. You might not see it yourself, but I can. You will be fine.”

Such an authenticity always pulled the corner of Dorothea’s lip up into a smile. It was a wonder for Dorothea how this smaller woman in front of her always had such a strong belief in her friend despite her hard-earned trust. Most of the time, Dorothea found that even when she was uncertain, believing in Edelgard was enough for things to work out well. And so, as always, Dorothea thought she would just have to believe in those determined lilac eyes again for this time. Thinking about it, It was astonishing even to herself how much her life came to be like this, having someone whom she could trust and talk without a mask. Not only Edelgard but also Petra and everyone in the Eagles had become a treasure she could never dream of. Looking up into the sky again while refusing to meet the lilac eyes, Dorothea spoke up with an ironic tone, “You know? I never liked this place. Not just Enbarr but the whole Fodlan. There're only memories I wish I could forget.”

After Dorothea swallowed hard, she slowly inclined her head to bring her emerald eyes that reflected with the shade of orange and red to meet with the lilac eyes. “But then after I met everyone and my dear Petra at the academy, somehow, my mind was fulled of memories that I want to keep and treasure them forever. It’s kind of funny in a way, don’t you think? I thought I just needed to get married to some stupid noble and find a way to survive this wicked world no matter what. But here I am with good memories, friendship, and love...I thought I did not deserve such a happy life.”

When Dorothea finished with a fond smile on her face, Edelgard closed her eyes while thinking back to the fateful day in the Holy Tomb. “That makes the two of us then. I still could not believe everyone had stayed by my side even now.” And she would be forever grateful for that. Without her trusted friends by her side, she would not be standing in the balcony, chatting nonchalantly while enjoying the enchanted sunset with her best friend like this. She would never have someone to call a friend, even. Let alone the best friend and the lover.

As if having an ability to read her mind, Dorothea revealed her smirk before letting out her usual teasing voice. “Especially Byleth?”

A blush rapidly occupied the area on Edelgard’s face after her mind was being exposed out loud by the ever so perceptive songstress. With a few attempts to clear her throat, Edelgard finally recomposed and regained her confident voice again, albeit with a remaining crimson face. “Nonsense. All of you are dear to me, and you know that.”

A smirk on Dorothea’s face evolved into a wide grin before she let out a half-spoken half-giggling words, “Of course. And I also know how much you love her. Otherwise, why would your face flare up every time I mentioned her name even when both of you are officially married already.” 

At this point, if Edelgard’s face could be a shade redder, then it would. And as Edelgard let out a slight pout accompanied by a huff, Dorothea’s laughter grew brighter. Their conversation always ended up like this. Dorothea would be a teaser while Edelgard would be the one who got teased. It was a light moment where Edelgard might unexpectedly miss it after her friend moved to a different country. And she thought Dorothea knew that too. That was why they were trying to enjoy this moment together as much as the flow of time allowed them to. But in the end, the laughter would die down, the blush would lose its color, and the bright orange ball would drive under the horizon. The only thing left for them was only a silent conversation between the emerald eyes and the lilac one. 

“I’m just glad you can find your true happiness, Edie.”

“And I’m glad you can find yours, Dorothea.” 

They stood there, watching a sunset turned into a night sky with no need to share any more words and simply enjoying the presence of each other. When it was time for Dorothea to depart, it might be one of that bitter-sweet moment for them. But no matter where they would be or how far they were apart, their friendships would never falter. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!  
> I finally finished the second story for the series. Yeah!  
> I love the interaction between Edelgard and Dorothea, not just for the teasing side but also from the side where they actually have a lot of similarities and things that can fulfill each other's hole. I'm quite sad that I couldn't explore it longer.  
> I might in the future but not now because I do have another ongoing story I am currently working on and I wanted to focus on that first.  
> Anyway, feel free to leave any comments or kudos!  
> Take care and stay safe out there.


End file.
